Deciding How Much to Spend

Deciding how much money to spend is always a tricky subject for many of us. Holiday giftgiving can be socially confusing and emotionally draining, and sometimes we can be tempted to spend more on presents to make up for other ways we feel we have fallen short during the rest of the year. Another reason we may overspend, is because of impulse control issues. We may be out shopping, feel overwhelmed by everything, and just want to buy something quickly, even if it is more expensive than we can afford.

In the end, we can end up doing this many times over, which puts more strain on our bank accounts in January and beyond.

Picking a timeframe for this would naturally extend well beyond the holiday season, especially if you are using credit cards, or your bank account is taking a big hit from overspending.

Determining how demanding this is can depend on a lot of different factors - how much money we have to spend, how much other people expect us to spend on them, not knowing about alternative products we could purchase that are less expensive, as well as Family pressure to show how much you love someone by purchasing something expensive.

Coping skills for money are often a bit iffy. This topic is not just about money, but also our relationships with others, and our ability to manage expectations and or our own impulses.